The population of India in 2003 was estimated by the United Nations at 1,065,462,000, which makes it the second most populous country among the 193 nations of the world. China is the only nation with more people, and the only other country with more than one billion inhabitants. Moreover, the US Census Bureau expects India's population to surpass China's by 2035. The key to India's rapid population growth since the 1920s has been a sharp decline in the death rate because of improvements in health care, nutrition, and sanitation. In 1921, when India's population stood at 251,321,213, the birthrate was 48.1 but the death rate was 47.2; by 1961, when the population reached 439,234,771, the birthrate was still high at 40.8, but the death rate had dropped by more than half to 22.8. A drop in the birthrate from 41.1 in 1971 to 30.2 in 1990–91, presumably attributable to an aggressive program of family planning, contraception, and sterilization, had little immediate impact on the compounded population growth rate, which averaged 2.1% in the 1980s and 1.9% in 1990–95. The government considers the rapid population growth a serious problem, particularly in relation to reducing poverty. The goal of the Indian government is to reach zero population growth by 2050 with a population of1.3 billion.

India is the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.271 billion people (2015), more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing China, its population reaching 1.6 billion by 2050. Its population growth rate is 1.2%, ranking 94th in the world in 2013. The Indian population had reached the billion mark by 1998.

I used to believe in reincarnation. I grew up in a family that were woo-ists.

The question that destroyed it for me was whether you can be the same person just because you share the same memories. If I have memories of someone from a previous age, assuming for the moment that this is possible, does me make that same person? You have the same memories as other people you have shared experiences with, it doesn't make you the same person.

Again it's an implicit assumption that consciousness can continue to exist without the use of a brain. There is no reason nor any evidence to suggest that this is the case.

(17-08-2015 07:26 AM)julep Wrote: I'd prefer the black screen to being reincarnated. I don't think reincarnation is likely, and to me it also sounds horrid. Suffering, struggling, and dying over and over and over: no thanks.

Yes. Hindus and Buddhists who believe in reincarnation see it as a bad thing. Their ultimate goal is to escape from that cycle.

The "black screen" doesn't bother me at all. My fear of death, such as it is, has entirely to do with the pain and suffering associated with the process of dying. Dying scares me -- being dead does not.

If you don't remember who you are, how is it any different from blank screening? You would not remember having another life and would have no concept of living before. Its like wiping the hard drive of a computer and changing out the hardware(a different human body) but all the software that made you who you are is gone forever(the collections of lifetime of experiences).

And either way there is no evidence of reincarnation so I don't believe in it.

“We can judge our progress by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers, our willingness to embrace what is true rather than what feels good.”
― Carl Sagan